Parents give son, 3, pot for cancer treatment

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- At 3 years old, Cash Hyde has spent most of his young life battling cancer.

In May 2010, he was diagnosed with a stage 4 brain tumor. Cashy, as he is affectionately called, spent 10 months at a Salt Lake City hospital enduring high-dose chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.

His tumor was inoperable, inextricably wrapped around his optic nerve.

Cashy's father, Mike Hyde, said he was so sick, he hadn't eaten in more than 40 days. He was so sick, he was vomiting eight to 10 times a day and couldn't lift his head off his pillow.

"They asked us six to seven times if we wanted to quit efforts and just let him go," said Cashy's mother, Kalli.

Cashy's parents made a radical decision. They asked Cashy's doctors to take him off his anti-nausea and pain medications.

Instead, Cashy's parents turned to cannabis oil, made from marijuana. It's a substance that is illegal under federal law.

Kalli Hyde, a registered nurse, and her husband began sneaking the cannabis oil into Cashy's feeding tube. They did not inform Cashy's oncologist.

Cashy's appetite returned. The couple says Cashy slept more and appeared to be in less pain, all of which seemed to help the boy endure the grueling chemotherapy.

"Within 2 weeks time, Cashy was off all those drugs. He was sitting up in bed eating, he was laughing," the father said. "The doctors and nurses told us that it was a miracle and amazing."

In January 2011, the parents say doctors told them Cashy was in remission, but the family's joy was short lived. An MRI in October 2011 showed Cashy's tumor had returned. That's when their second cancer fight started.

Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration. That means the DEA believes marijuana has "no currently accepted medical use" and has a "high potential for abuse."

Trying to change that, the California Medical Association recently urged the federal government to make it easier for scientists to conduct more medical research on marijuana.

"I think there is tremendous potential for using cannabinoids for treating cancer," said Dr. Prakash Nagarkatti of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.

"Cannabinoids" are the chemical compounds unique to marijuana, or cannabis.

Researchers like Dr. Nagarkatti see promise.

"We can use these cannabinoids to activate those receptors that are found on cancer cells and thereby be able to kill the cancer cells," he said.

Dr. Nagarkatti and his team of researchers were among the first to show that the active compounds in cannabinoids can target a cancer cell, unlock the receptor and direct the cancer cell to self-destruct.

"When you inject marijuana cannabinoids called THC into mice, we found that almost 25% to 30% of the mice would reject the cancer or reject the tumor," Nagarkatti said. "The cells basically commit suicide and they die."

"Cashy's not a criminal," Mike Hyde said. "Cashy just wants to live. Cashy wants to go outside and play."

Cashy's second bout with brain cancer brought the family to Southern California's Loma Linda University Children's Hospital for six weeks of proton radiation.

Once again, the parents did not tell Cashy's doctors about the cannabis oil out of fear his treatment would be stopped. They did not get Cashy a medical marijuana recommendation for California.

"Prosecution is not my worry. Cashy turning 4 is my worry. If Cashy can turn 4 and I'm sitting in jail, that's fine," the father said.

The Hydes believe so strongly in the power of cannabis, they both say they use marijuana themselves.

The mother, six months pregnant, said she smoked marijuana for pregnancy-related nausea.

"I just want to spread the word to other parents," she said. "They need to know that he is flourishing on this medication."

Cashy's brain tumor shrunk by half during six weeks of radiation therapy at Loma Linda. But the potential for marijuana to act on cancerous tumors isn't known yet.

"Cannabis is felt to act in a number of different ways against tumors and one is by blocking angiogenesis or the creation of new blood vessels," said Dr. Donald Abrams, an oncologist at UC San Francisco.

Cashy's battle with cancer is far from over, but it's a fight his family won't back down from.

"Cashy has cancer and we're fighting cancer. Cancer has no rules, and neither do I," Mike Hyde said.

It's been about seven weeks since Cashy completed his radiation at Loma Linda. The tumor has continued to shrink.

Cashy's parents say the MRI scans they got last week show the tumor is gone for now. He is in remission again.

Words escape me really. I'm saddened by the fact this young boy and his loving parents have an effective treatment for his illness yet it's use is illegal, fucking joke, it really is very, very sad and very, very wrong

the headline is a little misleading , hope the little guy pulls through

anyone who honestly agrees with pregnant women smoking is just beyond reasoning. thats just disgusting... and pregnancy related nausia?? wtf do you think every other pregnant women goes through?

it's preferable over some of the alternatives that man has come up with , i take it you've heard of thalidomide ?how about using a spliff or something cooked with cannabis to aid an pregnant lady get 9 months of decent sleep instead of chemical sleeping tablets ?

What most people don't understand about Prop. 215 is it says a person don't have to have an RX only that a DR tells the person Cannabis might help. I just hope one day will all the finding the Governments around the world will see cannabis has medical use and shouldn't be regarded as a class 1 or even regulated!!

if the cannibis oil was what is saving him, why did the cancer come back? its irocally that when he had proton radiation treatment the cancer went away.

plus anyone who honestly agrees with pregnant women smoking is just beyond reasoning. thats just discusting... and pregnancy related nausia?? wtf do you think every other pregnant women goes through?

I agree that it may not be a cure but it does work well for resolving a couple of symptoms i.e. nausea and loss of appetite. On a side note my sister has been going through horrendous morning sickness lasting all day and preventing her from getting a good nights sleep. She has been on a number of prescribed pills to resolve this but none have worked. She has been getting stressed about this to the point of not being able to go outdoors in case of vomiting. The only thing that has resolved this is the organic cannabis that I grow, she needs just half a gram a day to help her go about every day things and get a good nights kip. Its not ideal but personally I think this is better than all the medication she has been prescribed.

firstly, u say that is cannabis is better than being prescribed other chemicals, but thc and other chemicals found in cannabis are still chemical compounds so basically just exchanging one chemical compound for another. i agree that cannabis can help people cope with symptoms of cancer and other illnesses but is definately no cure for morning sickness. smoking cannabis when pregnant changes the baby's brain development as well as other drugs, and that has been proven over and over again. it also slows the baby's heart beat.

im not sure why so many cannabis users are disillusioned into thinking that because its organic or that its something natural that comes from a plant, that it is safe. seiing as their all natural, might aswell medicate on magic mushrooms, which can also bee grown organically. apart from the baby's health, how is it even morally right to put that into a child's body without them having a right to give consent or not. basically, without being rude, how u can be proud of giving that to your pregnant sister is absolutely beyond me..... but then ive come to find that 90% of people on these forums will slag off someone who drinks whilst pregnant but would agree with them using cannabis. its complete hypocrisy.

i love cannabis dont get me wrong thats why im here but im under no allusion about the pitfalls.

p.s. my girlfriend, who has had 3 children, with morning sickness every time, would like to add that theres plenty of other natural remidies, which help besides prescription drugs or cannabis

firstly, u say that is cannabis is better than being prescribed other chemicals, but thc and other chemicals found in cannabis are still chemical compounds so basically just exchanging one chemical compound for another. i agree that cannabis can help people cope with symptoms of cancer and other illnesses but is definately no cure for morning sickness. smoking cannabis when pregnant changes the baby's brain development as well as other drugs, and that has been proven over and over again. it also slows the baby's heart beat.

im not sure why so many cannabis users are disillusioned into thinking that because its organic or that its something natural that comes from a plant, that it is safe. seiing as their all natural, might aswell medicate on magic mushrooms, which can also bee grown organically. apart from the baby's health, how is it even morally right to put that into a child's body without them having a right to give consent or not. basically, without being rude, how u can be proud of giving that to your pregnant sister is absolutely beyond me..... but then ive come to find that 90% of people on these forums will slag off someone who drinks whilst pregnant but would agree with them using cannabis. its complete hypocrisy.

i love cannabis dont get me wrong thats why im here but im under no allusion about the pitfalls.

p.s. my girlfriend, who has had 3 children, with morning sickness every time, would like to add that theres plenty of other natural remidies, which help besides prescription drugs or cannabis

can I just say man, yes it's chem forr chem but wouldn't you agree, the side-effects of using ganja instead of those kinds of chems that help you get to sleep,have a good day or help you have a less painful life are much easier on the body?

Or is it just me?

I wonder what Arnold would have to say on this?

Also, I watched a documentary called "run from the cure" or something like "The Rick Simpson Story"

Am I to believe this is not true?

Are you saying that cannabis can't cure cancer at all?, all types of cancer?, or just one?

One more thing; if I have met a recovering cancer patient,who, beat cancer using hemp oil, does that mean that perhaps,just perhaps, cannabis can cure cancer?

I'm not going to side with either side of that argument on whether it cures cancer or not but; it's so clear to see that it helps and how much it helps is dependant on person to person I suppose

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